Manchester was a fine city to raise my little family, but as a single person again it isn't for me. It may be okay for some, maybe 20-somethings or 30-somethings, but as a full grown adult I guess I'll need a city with more cultural and recreational offerings, plus items of special interest to me. The downtown in particular leaves a lot to be desired. There is little to no shopping, either large or small stores. There is not a lot for art, either performing or viewing. Maybe once the art school is better established this will change. And transportation in this city and in New Hampshire in general is a black hole!!! I tend to not want to drive, and find the train/bus/flying/bicycle trails offerings not fulfilling my needs anyway. If one doesn't want to go to Boston one absolutely needs a car.

I lived in Manchester for one year for work purposes and absolutely loved it. Living in New Hampshire was the best place I ahve ever lived and if possible I would gladly live there again. Every city has pockets of crime, but the positives far out weigh the negatives.

A good place to live. No sales tax, but very high property taxes. Fairly good schools and good colleges. But college is costly. More public transportation is in the future as well as a rail system to Boston. Right now salaried jobs for the experienced are scarce. Downtown is coming back but many don't go there with limited parking and high meter cost. People are educated and friendly and very "New England". Right now with the economy in trouble housing prices are down, so a good time to buy, but most have lost equity in their homes. A fairly safe area compared to some of the big cities but as in all of our country, children must be monitored.

I live in Concord and I couldnt imagine living in Manchester it is unattractive old mill city high crime, high housing cost (because of being close to Massachusetts) and not worth the money. Concord is better, but the cost of housing is still steep. There are no state tax, but trust me, you pay for it in other ways such as rediculous property taxes.

Where did you get your information on Manchester housing costs? It must be out of date. Costs are much higher here. I'm not sure you could even buy an empty lot for the median home price you have listed. Most decent homes around here START in the low to mid 200's. Anything less than that is usually very old, very small, in need of significant repair and in undesirable areas.